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Monthly Archives: March 2010
1918 Again? – Part 1
For the past week or so, there have been a series of press reports discussing the remarkable similarity between the 1918 H1N1 virus (Spanish flu) and the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus. Sometimes press reports do a good job summarising scientific … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged China, H1N1, H3N2, hemagglutinin, pandemic, Russia, Spanish flu, swine flu, vaccine
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Situation in Asia – March 28, 2010
Pandemic H1N1 and H5N1 continue to circulate in Asia. In Thailand, human cases of pandemic H1N1 continue to kill. In addition, a recent protest in Bangkok apparently resulted in a number of infections among the participants. There are indications that … Continue reading
La Valse des monstres
Recent headlines remind us that H5N1 has not disappeared. It continues to infect and kill people. In Africa, five new cases in Egypt were reported to the WHO this month. In Asia, cases have been reported in Indonesia, Vietnam and … Continue reading
Pregnant women are at greatly increased risk of critical illness and death from pandemic H1N1 – the ANZIC study
A previous study in California provided evidence that pregnant women were much more likely to die of pandemic H1N1 than other people. Now, a new study based on information from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care (ANZIC) Influenza Investigators … Continue reading
Mystery virus causing pneumonia in Syndey
There is a report today of an infectious disease which is causing widespread illness in Sydney, Australia. From The Daily Telegraph, March 15, 2010: SYDNEYSIDERS are being hit by a virus that is not only taking down people but also … Continue reading
China initiates quarantine for suspected H5N1 carriers from Egypt and Indonesia
We are in the middle of an H1N1 pandemic. H5N1 is endemic in China. And yet, today, the Chinese government issued a directive to screen people from Egypt and Indonesia for signs of H5N1 based on the following symptoms: …fever, … Continue reading
Influenza hybrids made to order can be more infectious than their parents
New influenza hybrids can be made in many different ways in the laboratory. I think most people don’t realise just how easy it is to mix and match viral components with nothing to start with but a GenBank sequence. A … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged 1918, H1N1, H5N1, hybrid, infectiousness, influenza, pandemic, reassortant, reassortment, Spanish flu, swine flu
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Pandemic flu hybrid virus in Chinese pigs
As my previous two blogs have documented, reassortments between flu viruses can result in novel (and lethal) new properties. Such a reassortment has recently been reported in a pig from mainland China. From News.gov.hk, February 26, 2010 One pig sample … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged China, H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, pandemic, pig, reassortment, swine flu
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